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Imagine you own the most beautiful stunning mansion you can think up. Now imagine while you keep the outside pristine, the inside is a wreck-you never clean the toilets, take the garbage out, do any dishes, sweep the floor, etc. It would stay fairly nice on the outside, yet over time the inside would be a disaster. This is equivalent to eating a diet lacking in important nutrients.

In today’s society we have an overwhelming array of food products and ready made meals available to us that are often over processed and referred to as “food byproducts”. Food that in no way resembles the original form because it has been so made over with additives, fat, salt or sugar that it is now an entirely different food. Often times big companies or smart labeling tricks a person into thinking whatever they are eating is super nutritious (granola bars, energy drinks, the list goes on) and have no idea the crazy amounts of stuff that goes into food that indeed is not food. The sky rocketing rates of overweight and obese Americans, especially children, reflects a correlation between increased obesity rates and consumption of processed foods in the last 20 years. But these can impact people with regular weight as well in forms of mental illness, increased stress, depression, anxiety, fatigue, physical pain, low immune system, cancer rates, reproduction; you name it and diet will play a role.

However, by increasing consumption of fruits, vegetables, and low or non-fat animal products, we can vastly increase our health status and reverse the risk of disease that comes along with a poor diet. For some people, this sounds like a death sentence. For others, its old news because it is already things they are doing. I aim to show how simple it is to incorporate these foods into a normal diet that is easy to follow (no ingredients that cost $75 dollars a drop at Whole Foods) and also budget friendly. For families, introducing new foods can be difficult because children eat what they are familiar with and eat what they like. Studies have shown over time increasing a child’s exposure to new foods increases their consumption of new foods, as well as their willingness to try new and unfamiliar foods in the future. There is no perfect answer, no miracle product, no one stop solution that will fix these problems overnight. It is lifestyle changes that can be introduced slowly and correctly to insure you are preparing yourself for a healthier lifestyle, starting with the plate in front you.